Development Director

Inside Philanthropy; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 95,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Liberty Ecosystem is seeking a Development Director to lead fundraising strategy, donor engagement, and partner cultivation in service of community-impact projects in Los Angeles. You will collaborate with executive leadership and the Board to grow philanthropic revenue, deepen relationships with foundations, individuals, and investors, and steward resources that advance racial and economic justice.

This exempt role offers a salary range of $95,000–$110,000 with a six-month review, and the

Qualifications

• 4+ years of progressive nonprofit fundraising, development, philanthropy, advancement, or related experience.
• Personally cultivated and solicited major donors and are comfortable making significant asks.
• Understand institutional philanthropy and know how to develop funder relationships beyond a single proposal or grant cycle.
• Able to engage executives and Board members as effective partners in fundraising.

Responsibilities

• Lead fundraising strategy and grow revenue across major gifts, foundations, and investors.
• Cultivate and steward donor and funder relationships, expanding the pipeline.
• Partner with leadership and Board to identify opportunities and close major asks.
• Develop compelling cases for support and coordinate campaigns and solicitations.
• Oversee governance of donor data and reporting to track progress and impact.

Skills

Donor cultivation

Major gifts

Fundraising strategy

Relationship building

Investor relations

Job description

THE OPPORTUNITY

Most development leaders spend their careers raising money inside organizations where the donor base is established, the relationships are inherited, and the fundraising strategy has already been written. Every so often, a different kind of opportunity appears: an organization with a proven vision, growing visibility, community trust, and work capable of attracting significant investment, ready for a development leader who can take its fundraising to the next level.

This is that opportunity.

The Liberty Ecosystem is entering a new chapter of ambitious, community-rooted work, and we are hiring the person who will bring the capital and relationships alongside that ambition. Not simply a fundraiser. A relationship builder, strategist, and closer who can turn belief in the mission into meaningful investment.

WHAT YOU'LL BUILD TOWARD

At the Liberty Ecosystem, we're not just building projects and providing community programs. We are igniting a movement that reimagines urban investment as a catalyst for justice, equity, and transformation. Our mission is to forge a reparative, restorative, and regenerative economy that uplifts Black Los Angeles and fuels a revolution across the African diaspora.

And this is not abstract. We led the largest raise for a community-owned real estate project in American history. Our ecosystem approach has been highlighted by the Brookings Institution. Our land-justice work has been featured in Yes! Magazine and Next City.

We are a nonprofit and a social enterprise in the truest sense: the discipline and ambition of a growth company, the soul of a movement. The vision is proven. The resources are in place. Now the resources must grow with it.

WHY THIS ROLE EXISTS

Vision can inspire investment. Relationships are what turn that investment into lasting impact.

Our work has earned the belief of a remarkable and growing community - impact investors, foundation partners, and individual donors who each see something of themselves in this mission. That community is ready for a leader devoted to it: someone to deepen every relationship, open new doors, and match the ambition of the work with the ambition of the resources behind it.

As our Development Director, you will be a trusted face and voice for this movement, working hand in hand with executive leadership and the Board to grow, deepen, and steward the full community of people and institutions investing in our work. You'll lead the fundraising strategy that fuels the Liberty Ecosystem's next chapter, grow philanthropic revenue, deepen relationships across donors, funders, and investors, and open the doors that carry this movement forward.

WHAT YOU'LL OWN

The Capital: Fundraising Strategy & Revenue

• Develop and lead annual and multi-year fundraising strategies aligned with organizational priorities and ambitious revenue goals
• Grow and diversify philanthropic revenue across major gifts, individual giving, foundations, impact investors, corporate philanthropy, sponsorships, campaigns, and other aligned opportunities
• Build and actively advance a strong pipeline of donors, funders, and impact investors from identification and cultivation through solicitation, stewardship, and renewal
• Track fundraising performance, forecast revenue, and keep leadership informed of progress, significant opportunities, and emerging needs

The Relationships: Donors, Funders & Investors

• Lead major-gifts strategy and personally cultivate, solicit, and steward major donors and high-capacity prospects
• Build authentic, long-term relationships across a diverse supporter base - individual donors, foundation partners, and mission-aligned impact investors - and move fluently among them
• Cultivate and advance our impact-investment relationships, carrying them from first conversation toward committed capital; you lead the cultivation and the ask, while executive leadership and counsel structure terms alongside you
• Build relationships that belong to Liberty as much as to you - documented in our systems, connected across our team and Board, and rooted in the mission - so the trust you build strengthens the movement for the long term
• Develop tailored strategies that deepen engagement, strengthen retention, and grow giving and investment over time
• Prepare and partner with executive leadership and Board members on introductions, supporter meetings, significant asks, and stewardship

The Reach: Foundations & Institutional Partnerships

• Build and strengthen relationships with foundations, institutional funders, and other capital stewards
• Expand the pipeline of grant and institutional funding opportunities aligned with the Liberty Ecosystem's mission and priorities, including program-related investments and other capital that flows through our philanthropic partners
• Lead grant strategy from prospect identification and proposal development through award, reporting, relationship management, and renewal
• Develop corporate philanthropy, sponsorship, and partnership opportunities that expand both resources and relationships

The Case: Storytelling & Campaigns

• Build compelling cases for support that clearly communicate what we're building, why it matters, and what investment makes possible
• Develop persuasive proposals, concept papers, donor presentations, appeals, campaign materials, and other fundraising communications
• Lead fundraising campaigns around key organizational priorities and opportunities
• Partner across leadership, programs, finance, and communications to connect our work, outcomes, and ambitions to powerful opportunities for investment

The Leadership: Board & Organizational Partnership

• Serve as the organization's senior development leader and strategic advisor on philanthropy, fundraising, and donor engagement
• Guide and grow the development function, including the staff and consultants who support fundraising and supporter relationships
• Engage executive leadership and the Board as active fundraising partners, helping them cultivate relationships, open doors, and participate confidently in asks
• Provide clear updates on fundraising performance, major opportunities, pipeline activity, and progress toward revenue goals

WHO YOU'LL BECOME

Eighteen months from now, the Liberty Ecosystem's fundraising landscape will look different because you were here.

More people will know our work. More institutions will understand our vision. Relationships that began as introductions will have become genuine partnerships. Prospects will have become donors, and existing supporters will have deepened their investment. And a community of committed supporters will be woven into the fabric of Liberty because of you: relationships built to belong to the movement, strong enough to outlast any single person in it.

Our philanthropic reach will be wider, our relationships deeper, and our revenue more diversified. You will have helped bring significant new resources into a movement working to fundamentally change how communities own, invest, and build wealth.

This role is designed to grow with the person in it. It is built to become the organization's senior-most development seat - a path for the leader who earns it. As the resources and relationships you build expand, so will the possibilities for the organization and for your leadership within it.

THIS ROLE IS FOR YOU IF…

• You've raised meaningful money and can point to fundraising goals you've owned, significant gifts you've helped close, grants you've secured, and revenue you've helped grow
• You have 4+ years of progressive nonprofit fundraising, development, philanthropy, advancement, or related experience
• You have personally cultivated and solicited major donors and are comfortable making significant asks
• You understand institutional philanthropy and know how to develop funder relationships beyond a single proposal or grant cycle
• You can hold a room, or a call, full of very different supporters at once, moving fluently from an impact investor to a foundation officer to an individual donor without missing what each of them cares about
• You build relationships that belong to the mission, and take pride in creating something durable that outlasts your time here, and in connecting supporters across the organization rather than holding them close
• You can turn complex ideas into a compelling case for support, whether in writing, in a presentation, or across the table from a donor
• You know how to engage executives and Board members as effective partners in fundraising
• You build momentum in partnership — reading a relationship well enough to know when to carry it forward yourself and when to bring in the CEO or Board for the moment that seals it
• You move fluently between worlds: polished and credible with donors, foundations, and institutional partners; authentic and grounded with community stakeholders
• You carry a genuine commitment to racial and economic justice, with the cultural intelligence to match
• You are strategic and hands-on, equally willing to shape the fundraising strategy, write the proposal, make the call, and make the ask
• You are uncompromising on confidentiality, integrity, and professionalism

THIS ROLE IS NOT FOR YOU IF…

• You think development means grant writing
• You'd rather stay behind the proposal than sit across from the person who can fund it
• Making a direct ask for significant money makes you uncomfortable
• You want an established donor portfolio handed to you on day one
• You'd rather your relationships stay yours, close to you and portable, than belong to the community you're building them for

No judgment, those are honest preferences. They're just not this role.

OUR CORE VALUES

• Mission Alignment and Advancement: We are dedicated to our collective goals and the advancement of our community
• Mutual Commitment: We show up for our organization and for each other
• Curiosity and Creativity: We encourage innovative thinking and the exploration of new ideas
• Initiation and Follow-Through: We are proactive in our efforts and committed to seeing projects to completion
• Respect for Confidentiality: We handle sensitive information with care and integrity

THE OFFER

This exempt position offers a salary range of $95,000–$110,000, commensurate with experience. And because this role is built to grow, compensation is too: your scope and salary will be formally reviewed at month six.

YOUR FIRST MOVE

Your journey to impact starts now.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. As a Black-led organization, we embrace diversity, equity and inclusion, and are dedicated to fostering a supportive environment for all team members.